Twist and Turn
by Shady.Tamarack
Summary: The sudden arrival of a strange woman during the middle of a war meeting sends the entire future out of whack. A girl falls into the world fanfic, but with a twist.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Everything in the first chapter, especially Vona, is mine. Anything Avatar belongs to the creators of the show.

"Long ago, longer than memory's reach, there lived a powerful wizard. Like all powerful wizards, this man had devoted many years to the study of magic. Unlike other wizards, though, he had been chosen for an honor that few then could claim and none have since: apprenticeship to a god.

"The god of death chose to teach this wizard, and when the god was finished the powerful wizard became a great leader. The name of his kingdom has been lost to time, but all the surviving records agree that it was a time of unprecedented peace.

"Eventually, the great leader took for himself a wife, one who loved him very much; and he loved her more than life itself. His wife wasn't a strong woman though, and within two years of their marriage she was dead.

"The great leader called upon the magics he had learned from the god of death and, in his grief, brought her back. The human soul is not meant to return to the material plane once it has passed, however, and what the great leader brought back was not his wife. Rather, it was a slavering beast, with no desire but to feast on human flesh.

"It ate the great leader then went on a rampage, killing a few and injuring many before it was brought down. The people of the kingdom believed that they were safe and so turned their attention to finding a new ruler.

"The great leader's spell had been too powerful though, and everyone that had died after his wife also returned. Every person who had been scratched or bitten by the great leader's wife sickened, died, and came back.

"Mankind was nearly decimated before a solution, of sorts, was found. Those who had been afflicted with any variation of lycanthropy didn't die when injured by the dead; their healing abilities prevented it. And so we rebuilt ourselves, not as humans, but as shifters. The increased speed, stamina, and strength also gave us an advantage over the dead, who lost all abilities granted to them when they returned.

"By then, the gods had abandoned us because we were too busy relearning how to survive to bother paying homage.

"And so we search for a better world, one where we can live free from the curse on our dead."

The voice of the wizard droned on and on, as Vona knelt on the cold stone floor of the ceremonial hall. Despite the roaring fire behind the master wizard, the winter chill had seeped into the floor, and it wouldn't be driven out until midsummer, when the ceremony for the next king was to take place.

Vona hoped she would be back by then. Her sister, Vela, who was older than her by twelve years, was running for the throne, and she wanted to help with her sister's campaign. Vona had no desire to hold the crown herself, but every king has had a wizard to protect and advise them, and she was about to take her final step into becoming an apprentice. If only Master Preedan could get to the end of his speech. Everyone had learned the origin as a child; there was no need for him to repeat it.

Vona tuned the master wizard out as she mentally went over the four spells she had learned. Everyone was taught the basic elemental spells, but they were also taught that the only limit to a wizard's magic was their imagination.

She had just begun to go over the various uses for her fire spell when the master asked "Are you ready?" breaking her concentration.

She nodded silently. Until the translation spell was fully in place, Vona was forbidden to speak. Swirling lines of ink already covered her ears, allowing her to instantly understand any language the spell had already come into contact with and pick up any new languages within a day. Master Preedan had given her the tattoos yesterday, and they had finally healed enough to apply the second part: the tattoo around her throat.

Once the part of the spell in her ears had picked up the language then she would be able to say anything and it would sound like she was speaking the native tongue. It was a convenient spell for traveling to other enclaves, but it was necessary for any journeys to other worlds.

Master Preedan turned to the side table and picked up the ink and brush that had been sitting there since yesterday. He dipped the brush into the ink and then began to carefully paint the spell onto the skin of her neck, chanting under his breath. The ink dried as soon as it touched her skin, so the master wizard had to be very careful. The gentle touch of the brush against her neck tickled, and Vona had to resist the urge to scratch at the ink left behind.

With a final flourish of the brush, Master Preedan finished the tattoo, and the ink areas heated up as the magic permanently attached to her skin. The tattoos on her ears also grew warm, although not enough to burn as they had yesterday, signalling that the spell had linked both parts together and was now in effect. The black ink faded until it was the same color as her skin.

Vona was ready to begin her journey.

Instead of opening up the portal though, Master Preedan grabbed her left wrist and began drawing another tattoo, a simple triangle.

At her questioning look, he explained "When you are ready to come home you simply press this tattoo, especially if you are in danger. If you die, it will return your body to us."

Vona smiled, suddenly afraid but unwilling to show it. It had been many years since a potential apprentice had died on their journey, but she could still remember the scent of burning meat that had suddenly permeated the enclave when the poor boy's body had been returned. His head had already been separated from the rest of the body, so there had been no need to sound the alarm.

Master Preedan pulled a notebook and a charcoal pencil out of one of his pockets and handed them to her. "Take these and go with the blessing of the enclave, Vona of the Bear."

Vona smiled as she stood up and took the only things beyond the clothes on her back that she was allowed to bring to the new world.

"Thank you," she said.

Master Preedan smiled back at her before he turned and, with a wave of his hands, opened a portal.

Vona stared at the swirling colors of the portal, nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach. she was about to enter a strange world, with rules completely foreign to her. She would have no backup. Why did the entrance exam for wizards have to be travel to another world? Why didn't they just travel to another enclave like the other fields did?

She had been the one to chose magic and learning over anything else though; no one had forced her.

With a final nod to Master Preedan, Vona drew in a fortifying breath and stepped through the portal and into another world.

AN: This is a writing exercise to help me develop Vona's character because I intend to use her in an original story hopefully soon. Also, I have no plot planned out for this fic at all. I'm writing by the seat of my pants, which will be a change. Feedback is appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip through the portal was a disorienting experience, a dizzying combination of colors, sounds, sensations, and the smell of vinegar made Vona feel lightheaded and weak. Almost as soon as she stepped out of the portal her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto her hands and knees, her head pounding and spots dancing across her vision. She panted harshly, trying to suck in enough air, her hands and knees stinging from the impact with the stone tiles that made up the floor.

Something grasped Vona's short hair and tugged her head back uncomfortably, forcing her to stare at an older man who sneered down at her.

He said something, possibly a question, but she just blinked at him, unable to understand the gibberish. Her stomach rolled, and she forcefully vomited onto the stone tiles, bile splattering the old man's shoes.

The old man released her hair and jumped back, his face twisted with anger and disgust.

Vona wiped the bile from her mouth, all signs of dizziness gone.

"I am so sorry," she said, mortified. "I know you probably can't understand me, but that was completely unintentional."

Behind the old man she had vomited on, there was a low table around which a number of other older men were standing, along with a teenage boy. To her right there was a wall of flames, and beyond that Vona could make out the figure of a man sitting on an imposing chair, possibly a throne. One of the older men had a long stick in his hands, and there were a number of figurines placed on the table, which had been painted with what appeared to be a map.

Vona had obviously interrupted a meeting of some sort, and, given that almost all the people present were clad in armor, it was likely that it was a war meeting. Great. So not only was this world inhabited by sentient beings and therefore unsuitable for refuge, but they were also in the middle of a war. For a moment, she was tempted to push the triangle tattoo on her wrist and go home. To go home only seconds after she arrived would be an admission of failure though, and there was little Vona hated more than failure.

Besides, even if she was unable to fulfill her primary objective, to find a new world for her people to live, she could still work on the alternative part of her mission, which was to learn as much as possible about the magic here.

Therefore, when the old man she had vomited on growled and summoned fireballs to his hands, Vona's eyes widened in amazement. He didn't have any tattoos as far as she could see, which could mean that the people here could channel magic without using runes. If she could learn that… Well, Vona wasn't quite sure how she would use that skill yet, but she had no doubt that it would prove useful.

The old man with the fire in his hands yelled something that sounded like gibberish at her and pulled one of his arms back as if to throw the fireball at her.

Vona's body reacted instinctively to the threat, sinking into a defensive position as her hands lit up with the runes linked to fire. A snarl rumbled in her chest, and her canines elongated as her control over her wild side began to slip.

Truthfully, it was all just a show. Vona could fight physically just as well as anyone else in her age group at the Enclave, but she was still just a child. Her magic would be weak and her shifter abilities limited outside of the full moon until she found her true shape.

Suddenly, the wall of flames died down, and the man who had been partially hidden behind them stepped forward. Like all the other men, he had pulled back some of his hair into a knot at the top of his head, which Vona considered a strange hairstyle. It didn't seem very practical.

What set the man apart from the others were the stylized metal flames stuck into his hair and the haughty manner with which he carried himself. It was clear that this man was in charge.

The old man who had been facing her extinguished his flames and bowed, as did the rest of the people in the room.

He said something that Vona couldn't understand, and everyone left the room except for a man with a rounded belly and the young teenager. The man in charge spoke to them a little longer before sweeping from the room.

The older man walked over to Vona, carefully stepping around her vomit, the boy trailing behind. He bowed to her and Vona, figuring that it may be some sort of greeting, reigned in her wild side, released her magic, and bowed back. He smiled kindly at her.

The boy muttered something to the man, and he chuckled, patting the boy's shoulder while he replied. Vona fidgeted, waiting to see what would happen next.

The old man turned back to her and gestured at himself, saying "Iroh," before motioning to the boy and saying "Zuko."

Vona brightened considerably when she realized that they were trying to teach her their names. She smiled and repeated their names, pointing at each one as she said it before pointing at herself. "Vona."

Iroh beamed at her before holding out his arm. Vona stared at him in confusion for a moment before realizing that she was supposed to take his arm.

She carefully stepped around the vomit splatters and grabbed his arm.

Iroh and Zuko led her out of the meeting room and down a series of long, red corridors. A lot of things here were red; the walls, the armor, the floors, the decorations. Maybe there was religious significance to the color red in their culture. Vona made a mental note to not complain about all the red once she could finally communicate with her hosts. Master Predawn had given a number of lectures on the importance of respecting other peoples' cultures to all the children who hoped to be wizards.

Zuko exchanged what Vona thought was a good night with Iroh before stepping through an ornate door. Iron directed her down a few more hallways before he opened a door, allowing her to precede him into the room.

He didn't enter however, just held up his hands in what Vona interpreted as a gesture to stay put. Once she saw the room, Vona had no problem obeying. The bed especially was calling to her, and she was exhausted from calling on her magic and her wild side at once, as well as the portal travel.

She removed her journal from its pocket and placed it on a nearby table before collapsing onto the bed, asleep within seconds.

A/N: Feedback is appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Vona was awakened by the sound of someone or something moving about in her room. She didn't think it was one of the dead; she was a relatively light sleeper and the dead tended to make noise, not even counting the alarm. It may have been someone intending to do her harm as the youngest sister of one of the candidates for king, but the person was moving around her room and, from the sound of it, rearranging things. It was probably Dyemo, her older brother, playing a prank on her. Well, she would turn the tables on him, for Vona wasn't above using a little magic as payback.

She sat up with a crazy war cry, her hands glowing with the runes for air as she pushed a wall of air towards the source of the noises. The air burst from her hands and hit the person, dissipating soon afterwards.

The only problem was that it wasn't her brother playing a prank on her. It was a strange woman.

All of a sudden, Vona remembered that she wasn't in her world anymore, and that the woman had no chance of understanding her. By the dead gods, she had just attacked some poor woman for no reason. They were probably going to lock her up for that.

Vona scrambled out of bed and knelt down next to the woman.

"I'm so sorry, really, I am. Vela always tells me to think before I do things, but I thought I was just so clever. I am so sorry, please be okay," she babbled, her hands fluttering uselessly in the air. She wanted to check the woman for injuries, but at the same time Vona didn't want to scare her any more than she already had.

The woman cringed away from her, a bit of black hair falling out of the knot on top of her head to frame her yellow eyes.

Vona sniffed the air, trying to subtly determine if the woman was bleeding. She didn't smell any blood, but, strangely enough, she also couldn't smell the woman's wild side. She took a deeper sniff, but all she could smell was human, not even a trace of what her shift was. Was it possible that she was an uninfected, a person who was completely human? Master Preedan had told her that it was likely that whatever world she ended up in would be a world free of shifters, but she hadn't really believed him. Not until now.

If they didn't have shifters, then the dead probably stayed dead here, Vona realized. She could barely wrap her brain around that realization. The walking dead had been a fact of life for longer than anyone could remember. That this world wasn't cursed in such a fashion was completely alien to her.

Vona realized she was gawking at the crying woman, and she stumbled away from her, partially caught up in her thoughts. The woman took the opportunity to flee, and Vona slumped to the floor.

She was going to be locked up, and these people stayed dead and weren't shifters. They wouldn't be prepared for a full moon. The only option available to her was to evade her hosts for the rest of the day, until she could explain her side of the situation.

Her mind made up and somewhat calmed by the decision, Vona grabbed her journal off the table and darted to the door. She opened it a crack and peeked out, but she closed it again just as quickly when she saw a guard, her heart hammering in her chest. Adrenaline flooded her veins, much like it had the few times she had been allowed beyond the walls of the enclave. The difference, though, was that this time she was evading the living rather than the dead, and she had no backup waiting in the wings to help her in case she couldn't handle herself.

Vona ran over to the window and looked out. It was a three story drop to the ground. It would be painful, but she would survive.

She had never jumped from this high of a place before, but she had seen Rikl, Vela's husband, walk off a fall from six stories. If he could do it, then she would be able to as well, never mind that he was almost a master wizard.

Vona sucked in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then jumped out of the window.

The few seconds that she actually fell were exhilarating. The impact with the ground afterwards was excruciating. She had managed to land on her feet, but she had forgotten to roll afterwards. The joints in her legs were screaming in pain. Vona crumpled to the ground with a muffled sob, even though she could already feel the healing begin. In about twenty minutes she would be good to go, as long as no one had seen her fall and as long as she could keep her pained groans quiet.

Vona's reckless jump had landed her in what she thought might have been a garden, if the abundance of green was anything to go by. There was a pond underneath one of the trees, and a few ducks were floating on it. At least, they seemed like ducks. Vona stared at them while she healed, trying to figure out what it was about them that was so strange.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if she wasn't the only one who wanted to watch the ducks because Zuko showed up, followed by a little girl who resembled him. Vona thought they might be siblings or close relatives.

The little girl was the first one to spot her. She stared at Vona for a moment, her gold eyes calculating, before she turned and babbled something at Zuko.

Zuko turned to look at her, and his eyes lit up with what she thought might have been excitement. He grabbed the little girl by the hand and tugged her over to where Vona was lying. She snatched her arm out of his reach and glared at him, but he wasn't paying any attention.

"Vona," he said, gesturing to her. "Azula," he pointed at the girl.

Vona forced a smile at her in greeting but didn't attempt to get up. She had only been healing for about five minutes, and the pain in her legs was immense.

Instead of waiting for her to get up, Zuko sat down next to her and began chattering about something. A bored expression took up residence on Azula's face after about a minute, but Vona didn't care.

She just laid there on the grass with her eyes closed, feeling hopeless. Her escape attempt had failed, and she had no idea when she would be free to try again.

A/N: Feedback is appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Azula left to do something, but Vona wasn't paying much attention. She was dozing in an attempt to ignore the pain, and it was working- partially. She had just woken up from a long sleep after all, and before she had hurt her joints by jumping out of the window she had been full of energy.

If only she hadn't startled that poor woman. Oh well. It wasn't as if she could somehow go back in time to fix her mistake, only the most powerful of wizards could accomplish time magic, so there was no use dwelling on it. As soon as the translation spell took effect, she would apologize to the woman, and everything would be fine.

The sudden absence of Zuko's chatter led Vona to crack open her eyes and peer in his direction. He was staring at his hands with a look of intense concentration. A tiny ball of fire hovered above his hands.

Vona stared at him in shock, her pain momentarily forgotten. Zuko was younger than her by a few years, but he had control far beyond what she could do until she was an adult.

If what Zuko was doing was an example of what a normal child could do, then Vona was a little afraid to see what a fully grown adult was capable of. If only she could speak to them and learn what the limits of their magic were. She had so many questions.

Thankfully, she had all the time in the world to gather knowledge. There was no time limit to her quest; she could leave whenever she wanted- as long as she didn't die or get in serious trouble beforehand.

Zuko's fireball fizzled out after a few minutes during which he danced it across his hand, and Vona felt that she could probably walk now, as long as she didn't do anything too stressful. She carefully sat up and then gently got to her feet. Her knees and ankles flared up in pain, but Vona grit her teeth and ignored it.

She began walking back in the direction of her room. Zuko hurried next to her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he was interrupted by a large gurgle from Vona's stomach.

Zuko gaped at her. Vona shrugged sheepishly. Healing was a hungry business, and she hadn't eaten breakfast earlier.

Iroh had chosen that moment to appear out of nowhere, as if summoned. He smiled kindly at Vona before jabbering at Zuko. The boy shrugged, and Iroh sighed before leading them into the building and down a hallway.

As they walked, Vona subtly sniffed the air, trying to see if these two were completely human like the woman. She couldn't find a trace of any animal in their scents, although they both smelled slightly of smoke, as if they were around fires all day.

She could also smell something that made her mouth water and her stomach grumble: food.

Iroh led them in the direction from which Vona smelled the food, which turned out to be emanating from the kitchens.

The woman that Vona had attacked earlier was there, and her eyes widened in fright and she cringed slightly when she saw the shifter.

The woman must have been some sort of servant, who had probably just been bringing her breakfast or something. Vona felt a sudden resurgence of guilt, but she quickly squashed it. The incident had just been a misunderstanding, and she would apologize once the woman could understand her. Problem on its way to being solved.

Iroh procured three plates stacked with food, a pitcher of juice, and a servant to carry them, and then led them out of the kitchen, back to what Vona assumed were his rooms.

However, she barely paid any attention to the eclectically decorated rooms as they sat down on cushions around a table before she fell upon her breakfast, stuffing her face like a ravenous bear. Hah. She ate so fast that she barely noticed the spices in the food until she finished it. Then the hotness was impossible to ignore. The spiciness of the food sent tears to her eyes, and she desperately grabbed the pitcher of juice and poured herself a cup before chugging it down. It eased the burn in her mouth and throat, so she sat back and gasped for air, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

Zuko and Iroh were staring at her, their eyes wide. A pair of wooden sticks, most likely utensils, were held in Zuko's right hand, forgotten.

Vona hadn't even bothered looking for utensils in her hunger.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Vona ducked her head to escape their shocked faces and pulled out her journal. She didn't have much to record, but she noted down her thoughts on the magic of this world, as well as her suspicions about a possible war.

By the time she had finished, Iroh and Zuko had eaten the rest of the food and pulled out what appeared to be a board game. It had a circular board covered in little squares, and the players controlled numerous small tiles with decorated with various objects. Iroh was clearly teaching Zuko, his tone one of patience and encouragement, so Vona watched with vague interest.

She spent the rest of the day with Zuko and Iroh, watching and listening to them, but most of all waiting for the spell to start working. She dozed occasionally as well. Vona could fall asleep anywhere, and her mother had often claimed that her true shift would be some sort of cat because she loved to sleep so much.

By the time the spell did start working, they had had two more meals and a brief visit from the man on the throne. Vona was listening to Iroh teach Zuko something about a piece of paper, possibly literature or history, idly wondering whether or not the translation spell would cover written language.

"...more passionate, the poetry of the Air Nomads is much more beautiful."

Literature it was. Still, Vona was too happy to finally be able to understand everyone to contain her excitement.

"Finally! I wasn't sure how much longer I could take of not understanding anything!" she exclaimed.

Iroh and Zuko stared at her again.

A/N: Feedback is appreciated.


End file.
